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Commercial catch for shark and ray species in New Zealand

2012, number of commercially caught animals

About this data

Definitions

The commercial fishing year goes from 1 October to 30 September.

Limitations of the data

The accuracy of the data source is of medium quality.
Under-reporting of protected species bycatch by commercial fishers introduces a major bias in the estimates. This can be compensated to a degree in fisheries that have sufficient observer coverage (enough observers for the number of vessels). Observer coverage varies across our commercial fisheries (MPI, 2014).

Inclusions

Total reported catch includes landings (both intentional and as bycatch), discards, and live release of chondrichthyan species (mainly sharks and rays) over the 2005–13 fishing years. Because discarded fish are unlikely to be alive and the survival rate of animals released alive is not known, this information has been aggregated with landings. This data covers NZ's Exclusive Economic Zone.

Dataset originally released on:

September 29, 2015

Purpose of collection

New Zealand waters have at least 113 species of chondrichthyans (sharks, rays, and other cartilaginous fish species). They are particularly vulnerable to overfishing because they are long-lived, mature slowly, and have a low reproductive rate. Chondrichthyans are important for healthy ocean ecosystems, and reporting their commercial catch and bycatch helps us understand the sustainability of our fisheries.